Flames of Destruction
by Dawnpath
Summary: A WIP! Dawn returns to her server to find everything she ownss burned to the ground. A note suggests that the culprit is Eli, but Dawn feels that there is more to the story. With the help of Gecko, Red, and others, can she figure out what's going on?
1. First Ally

**[Dawnpath** **joined the game]**

Dawn spawned in her house, as usual. "Hello, Sta-" Dawn chirped happily, then stopped short. Looking around, she realized she actually hadn't spawned 'as usual'; instead she was standing in the remains of her bedroom - a small, ragged wooden platform with a charred bed standing at its corner and pieces of shattered glass scattered over it. The rest of her house was a pile of burnt logs and planks. "What the...?" she stammered, staring at the disaster before her in shock. Her shock quickly turned to anger. Opening up her chat screen, she furiously started to type;

**[Dawnpath] someones going to die!**

**[Samwigenshi] geez calm down. whats the matter?**

**[geckosrule] :****o** **why!?**

**[Dawnpath] somebody blew up my house... and killed me kitteh, star... D:**

**[Samwigenshi] well that sucks**

**[geckosrule] what really?!**

**[Dawnpath] come on over and see :/**

**[geckosrule] k be there soon**

**[Samwigenshi] can't right now but sorry about ur place (im kinda fishing in a small boat in the middle of an ocean...)**

**[Dawnpath] um... ok? cya l8r sam**

**[Samwigenshi] Oh my flipping cats I got one! :D**

Dawn sat down on her blackened bed, her anger boiling inside her. Her bright blue eyes blazed, her catlike ears were flattened down, and her tufted tail was swishing from side to side angrily. _I can't believe this,_ she thought, sighing, _Who would do this? Even Eli wouldn't go this far.._. Just then, Dawn heard a voice far away, coming closer. "Hey, Dawn! Oh... oh wow, this _is_ a mess..." Dawn looked up to see Gecko running towards her. She quickly stood up and walked over to meet her. "Yeah," Dawn replied as they met in the middle of the yard, "Who in the world would do this?"

"Eli, perhaps?" Gecko replied, looking around at the scattered piles of debris. Dawn sighed, noticing that more than just her house had been destroyed; where the tree farm once stood there was a blacked patch of earth, the garden was just a crater in the ground, and the barn was in as bad of a condition as the house.

"No, I don't think so. Even he wouldn't go this far..." Dawn muttered. Gecko was kneeling on the ground, examining a charred log.

"I'm not so sure..." Gecko said quietly, "Come and take a look at this."

"What is it?" Dawn asked, walking over.

"Take a look," Gecko replied. On the log was a small, wooden sign with a short message on it:

**_That was fun._**

**_-Eli_**

"WHAT?!" Dawn shouted, fury flashing in her eyes, "Oh, I am going to absolutely _kill_ him!" However, only a few seconds later, her shoulders slumped, the flame in her eyes extinguished. "Not that I have anything to do so with," she sighed, "I mean, everything I had was blown up with the house. I hadn't even kept anything in my inventory when I last got off the server..." she looked down, defeated. "There's nothing I can do about it, and he knows it." Her tail drooped.

"Hey!" Gecko shouted firmly, startling Dawn and making her jump, "Don't just give up! Eli's gone too far this time, and he could do it to any one of us. Anyway, you're my friend, and I'm not going to let him get away with this! I have lots of stuff back at my house that you can use, and I'll help you take him down!" Her sapphire-blue eyes blazed.

"R-really?" Dawn stuttered, shocked, "You'll help me? Thanks so much!"

"Of course!" Gecko replied, smiling, then she spoke more seriously, "We might need some more help though... Eli's a superpower on this server."

"True," Dawn said thoughtfully, looking up at the darkening sky, "However, right now we need to set up some sort of shelter. It's almost night."

"Oh, darnit!" Gecko exclaimed, looking up at the sky, "You're right!"

"We'd better get to work."


	2. The Adventure Begins

By nightfall, Dawn and Gecko had managed to scavenge enough supplies from the remains of Dawn's house to make a small shack of sorts. Sitting inside, they made plans for the following day.

"Well, my place isn't _too_ far away," Gecko said, "We can probably get there before noon."

"Sounds good," Dawn replied, looking at Gecko. Neither Gecko nor Dawn had any coal or charcoal for torches, but the lack of light actually wasn't a problem; Dawn's eyes glowed bright blue in the dark, and she could see in the dark anyway. Dawn sat in the corner opposite Gecko, hugging her knees and with her tail draped over her feet. "Well, we have a plan, so we should probably get some sleep," Dawn said, stifling a yawn, "We have a long day ahead of us."

"Yeah, we do," Gecko replied, "It'd be a good idea to get some sleep."

"Well, 'night," Dawn mumbled, curling up in the corner of the shack and almost immediately falling asleep. Gecko sleepily smiled at Dawn, who looked quite cute hugging her tail, before falling asleep herself.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Gecko stood up and stretched, staring out the window at the shining morning sun. She glanced down at Dawn, who was still curled up asleep in a corner. "Hey, sleepyhead, wake up!" Gecko whispered, gently shaking her friend.

"W-wha...?" Dawn said sleepily, blinking and trying to adjust to the bright sunlight streaming in from the small window above her.

"It's morning!" Gecko answered, standing back up, "We need to get going."

"Aw," Dawn said, still sleepy, "I was actually pretty comfy." They left the makeshift shack and into the forest. Before she disappeared between the trees, however, Dawn took a last look at her ravaged home. "Goodbye," she whispered.

A by noon they reached Gecko's home; a wooden mansion with stone bricks, large windows, and a large porch with potted flowers in front. To one side was a small pond speckled with lilypads and with small fish swimming in lazy circles in it. "Well, we're here!" Gecko exclaimed sunnily, "Do ya like it?"

"Totally!" Dawn answered, looking up at the mansion, "It looks really nice! You obviously spent a long time on it." Then she looked down and muttered sadly, "Just like I spent so much time and effort on my home." Gecko looked at Dawn pityingly. She knew that Dawn had spent a lot of time and effort on her house, and now it was all gone. Gecko felt even more determined than before to make Eli pay for what he had done to the poor wezen.

**[RED_Spy1** **joined the game]**

"Oh, look, Tommy's on." Dawn exclaimed, looking back up and staring around as if he would spawn in the clearing, "I maybe he'll help!"

"Who knows?" Gecko replied, "Do you know where his base is?"

"Why don't we just ask him?" Dawn answered. "One sec..." Opening up her chat screen, she began to type;

**[Dawnpath] hey tommy!**

**[RED_Spy1] hello**

**[RED_Spy1] also, call me red, remember?**

**[Dawnpath] fine, RED. XD**

"I'm gonna join in too!" Abby laughed, opening up her own chat screen.

**[geckosrule] HIYA TOMMY/RED! **

**[RED_Spy1] :P hi**

**[Dawnpath] um, any chance we can meet u at ur base? plz?**

**[RED_Spy1] why?**

**[Dawnpath] LONG STORY :(**

**[geckosrule] ITS A SAD STORY OF CRUSHED HOPES AND DREAMS**

**[RED_Spy1] um... fine i guess... my base is in the swamp near your place, Dawn**

**[Dawnpath] kthxbai! X3**

**[geckosrule] thx red see you soon**

"Well," Dawn said happily, closing her chat screen, "At least we can go talk to him, even if he doesn't decide to help."

"Yeah!" Gecko replied, closing her chat screen as well, "But it's past noon now, so we really need to get moving. Do you know where the swamp is?"

"Yep!," Dawn said, looking over her shoulder at the forest, "But we should gear up quickly. It's a quite while away."

"Well, let's go then!" Gecko shouted over her shoulder, already sprinting towards her house, "Race ya!"

"You're on!" Dawn shouted back as she raced off after her friend.


	3. Red

Soon the duo was on their way to Red's place, with Dawn leading the way. They had both grabbed a full set of iron armor, a set of iron tools, and food that would last them quite a while. As they travelled through the forest, they stayed silent, only a word spoken here or there. Dawn was deep in thought, thinking about how she would rebuild her home, and Gecko was trying to memorize the land, just in case she needed to traverse it again some time. Dawn wasn't paying much attention to the ground in front of her, only looking up now and again to make sure they were on the right track. All of a sudden, Gecko heard a panicked scream ahead and looked up quickly to see a hand disappearing over a cliff. "Dawn!" Gecko shouted, racing to the side of the sheer drop. She stared downwards, worried about her friend, when she saw Dawn bobbing up and down in a pool of water about fifteen blocks below her. "Dawn! Are you ok?!" Gecko called, peering over the cliff's edge.

"I - I'm fine," Dawn's voice drifted up, "The sudden drop just startled me. I think this is the chunk glitch that Red told me about a while ago. Just jump on down; it's totally safe!"

"Are you sure?" Gecko called down nervously, looking side to side in hope of spotting another way down.

"Absolutely!" Dawn shouted back up, "I made it, didn't I?" Sighing nervously, Gecko gave one last look behind her before jumping of the edge of the cliff. She closed her eyes, not wanting to watch the water race up to meet her, and only opened her eyes when she was felt herself hit the water.

"See," Dawn said, "It wasn't that bad!"

"Um, y-yeah," Gecko said, swimming over to edge of the pond, "I wasn't scared at all!"

"Of course you weren't." Dawn replied, smiling at Gecko with a knowing look. "Ugh, I hate being wet." Dawn complained as she stepped out of the pond, "And now I'll be wet for quite a while! My outfit doesn't dry out quickly. I mean, these jeans, my boots, my hair..."

"And I thought I was the crybaby here," Gecko interrupted jokingly, "Looks like I was wrong!"

"Very funny," Dawn replied good-naturedly as she squeezed the water out of her long brown hair, "But at least I would have just jumped over the cliff without hesitation."

"At least I'm not complaining about being wet!" Gecko retorted playfully. Suddenly a message popped up in the chat bar.

**[RED_Spy1] are you coming?**

"Oops!" Dawn said, laughing, "Looks like we've taking too long!"

"Sorry, Red!" Gecko chimed in. The two girls opened their chat screens;

**[geckosrule] sorry tommy we're hurrying! *huff puff running superfast***

**[Dawnpath] sorry we're coming as fast as we can! the chunk glitch surprised us... and NOW I'M ALL WET DARNIT! XD**

**[RED_Spy1] ah i see**

**[RED_Spy1] i'll be waiting for you two**

"Well, we better get a move on," Dawn said, breaking the silence, "We're not far now, I think."

"Onwards!" Gecko laughed, pointing forwards and playfully marching forwards.

"Hey, that's my line!" Dawn replied, laughing and following Gecko.

Before too long Dawn and Gecko had reached Tommy's base; a large, dark wooden house standing in the middle of a dark pond. On the porch were many potted cacti. Small fish could occasionally be seen darting around the house's supports, but other than that the clearing was unmoving and silent. "Well, this isn't scary at all!" Dawn said sarcastically, "A big dark house in the middle of a big dark pond! Geez!"

"It does seem a little scary, but it _does _seem like something that Tommy - I mean Red - would like to live in." Gecko replied, staring at the foreboding house. Just then, a dark orange and blue figure stepped out of the hut's entrance.

"There you two are!" Red called, waving to them from his porch, "I was beginning to think that you two were just joking or something, and that you weren't actually coming!"

"Hey!" Dawn called back, waving, "Why would we do that? That's something Eli or Evan would do!" As Gecko and Dawn ran down the wooden boardwalk that lead to Red's house, he climbed down a ladder to meet them.

"Goodness," Dawn exclaimed, slowing to a stop in front of Red, "Do you always have to wear that spiderman outfit?"

"It's not a spiderman outfit!" Red retorted, "It is based off something you don't know."

"Oh, sorry, I'd forgotten," Dawn replied, blushing in embarrassment, "I know you've told me that before."

"Well, anyway," Red said, changing the subject, "What did you want to meet me for?" Almost immediately Dawn became gloomy, and she looked down. Her ears fell again. Red quickly glanced at her and then at Gecko, obviously confused.

Gecko sighed. She knew how hard it was for Dawn to go from having such as nice place and an abundancy of supplies to having nothing to call her own. It had happened to Gecko before. "Um, you see, Red," Gecko stammered, "When Dawn last logged on, her entire base-"

Dawn interrupted. "- home -"

"Yeah, home," Gecko continued, "Was ruined. When we were looking around, we found a sign that said 'That was fun.' It was signed by Eli."

Dawn looked up, "So Gecko and I are going to find him so I can a bit of revenge. We're both worried he might do this to another one of us, and I am hoping I can get him to hand over some stuff to rebuild my house and restore my supplies." She paused, then asked, "Are you willing to help?"

Red thought for a moment, looking up at the sky. _What should I do? _he thought, glancing back down at Dawn, who was now sadly staring at the surrounding forest, deep in thought, _I really don't want to leave, in case Eli comes by while I'm gone and decides to have some more fun with my base, but I also don't want to just leave those two to go up against him alone... he's quite powerful on this server... _Red looked back to Gecko and Dawn. _I can't leave these two and still have a good con._ 'Ok, I'll come." Red said, breaking the silence that had descended, "Just give me a moment to get ready."

"You will?" Dawn exclaimed, obviously delighted, and she grinned. "That's great! Thanks so much!"

"Just give me a moment." Red responded, climbing back up the ladder. Soon the group was on their way.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

_Author's Note:_

_Hey, guys! thanks for reading!_

_I know this has some typos, as the program I use can create those, so please PM me if you find any! Thanks so much!_


	4. Trouble

Since Red knew the lay of the land better then the two girls, he walked in front, while Dawn and Gecko followed his lead.

"Do either of you have any idea where Eli's base is?" Dawn asked, looking back at Gecko. "I've never seen it before."

"I heard that it was near some sort of volcano..." Gecko said.

"Not just near," Red elaborated, looking over his shoulder, "It's inside one."

"Seems like something he would do..." Dawn replied, concentrating on avoiding the murky pools that made up most of the bog.

Suddenly they noticed a small boat in the distance, racing rapidly towards the shore. As it hit the shoreline, a girl with long, dark brown hair and a striped shirt came flying out, landing face first into a yet another one of the muddy pools. Various fish flew out of the boat with her, and landed in the water beside her. "Aw," she exclaimed, looking up (still laying in the puddle, mind you) and noticing the ruined fish that were floating around her, "my fish!" Then she and noticed the suitablysuitibly surprised trio staring at her. "Oh, hiya!" the girl exclaimed, standing up and scattering water droplets everywhere. Dawn, Gecko, and Red all looked at her oddly. All three felt very awkward just standing there, but they weren't sure what exactly to do. Dawn was backing up, trying to stay out of range of the water that was being splashed everywhere.

"Um, hi Sam," Gecko stammered, "Erm... what exactly were you doing?"

"Oh, I was just fishing, and then my boat got stuck in a current and got swept down here and stuff," she said cheerfully, picking up her now-ruined fish. "And so I was fishing in the swamp and then my boat crashed! So now I'm here!" Although Red and Gecko were satisfied with the explanationexplination, Dawn was still slightly skeptical. _There isn't an ocean nearby, is there? _Dawn thought, staring thoughtfully at Sam, _So how did she really get here? _However, Dawn wasn't given any time to ponder this; Sam was already stepping out of the water, and Dawn had to concentrate on staying out of her way.

"Hey!" Dawn said, leaping sideways, "Careful! I really don't want to get wet again! I was already wet once today, and I just dried off! S-stay away! Agh!" Sam smiled mischievously and started towards Dawn. Gecko and Red watched as Sam chased Dawn around.

"Um, shouldn't we do something?" Gecko said to Tommy, who was still staring at the chase.

"I have no idea," he replied, not looking away, "It's actually quite funny..." After Gecko and Red finally managed to separate Dawn and Sam, they said their goodbyes and headed on their way.

"Wait!" Sam shouted, looking back, "I think I'll just come with you. I've got nothing more interesting to do... other than fish, and that got kinda boring."

"Great! I bet we can take Eli down with the four of us." Dawn exclaimed, obviously delighted. _I really think we have a chance now, _Dawn thought, finally hopeful, _Let's just hope Sam doesn't go off on another one of her adventures in the middle of this one!_

Over the next few days, the group traveled, scavenged, and battled together, making steady progress towards their final destination; Eli's volcano. Whenever they came across a small lake or pond, Sam would concentrate on getting Dawn wet as Dawn concentrated on staying dry, and Sam would chase Dawn around until Gecko and Red could separate them again. However, other than those playful games of one-way tag, the journey went smoothly and without any interruptions. That is, it went smoothly until the fourth day of the trip.

"Ugh, my feet," Sam complained, "We've been walking forever! Can't we take a break?" Dawn, who had been walking up ahead of the group, stopped and looked back.

"We really shouldn't," Dawn said uncertainly, "But I guess we can take for a short break." Just then, the group heard a voice coming from behind Dawn.

"Aw, you need a little break?" it sneered, "Well, here, how about I let you rest - for a long, long while!" Dawn stiffened as a sword was put to her neck. Gecko shouted and flicked her hand to the hilt of her sword, Red reached for his bow, and Sam pulled her sword out, holding it out in front of her with both hands and getting ready to attack.

"Ooh, let's not get hasty," the voice taunted, "Unless you want her to get it."

Dawn gritted her teeth. "What the heck are you doing, Evan?! We aren't doing anything wrong!"

"Oh, but you are! You're off to get a 'bit of revenge' on Eli!" Evan laughed, not moving the sword from Dawn's neck.

Red and Gecko froze, glaring, but Sam tightened her grip on her sword. _Evan is reckless,_ _but this isn't like him! _Sam thought hurriedly, _However, in this situation, it seems he'll try to kill her even if we don't attack. I need to get him away from Dawn as quickly as possible. Let's just hope I can do it fast enough..._ Sam readied herself and lept at Evan, swinging her sword above her head. Evan, obviously surprised, yet ready, slashed at Dawn before dodging the attack. His dodge was not fully successful, however, and Sam's sword met Evan's arm and left a gash before he escaped into the surrounding woods. Dawn fell backwards with a cry of pain and fell onto the long grass, the wound in her side staining the area around her.

"Dawn!" Gecko shouted, running over. Red and Sam quickly followed Gecko over to Dawn, kneeling down. "Dawn! A-are you ok?!" Gecko stammered, kneeling down.

Dawn opened her eyes. "T-tis just a flesh wound," she joked, gritting her teeth but smiling. Gecko, Red, and Sam sighed, relieved. However, when she tried to sit up, she fell back again and groaned. Dawn closed her eyes again, trying to ignore the pain that was threatening to dominate her senses. Gecko's voice sounded from somewhere above Dawn: "Dawn, do you think you could walk at all?" Dawn simply nodded, afraid that anything more could result in her losing her concentration. She felt herself being lifted, and then propped up by two arms. Opening her eyes partway, she saw that Sam and Red were carrying her to the edge of the trees. "T-thanks, guys... Notch, I _really _hate being a burden..." Dawn said through her gritted teeth. However, the added movement broke Dawn's hold on her consciousness, and darkness swiftly and silently enfolded her.


	5. Fishing for Endermen

Dawn opened her eyes slowly. Her side throbbed dully, and she could feel something tight wrapped around her middle. As the scene before her focused, she heard a familiar voice nearby. "Hey, she's waking up!" As Dawn's vision finally cleared, she looked up to see Gecko standing next to her, grinning. "How are you feelin'?" Sam asked, walking up. Dawn didn't answer, but instead looked around, confused. She was lying in bed in a room with a cobblestone roof and a wooden floor and walls. To her left was a small window, and Dawn could see it was dusk. Sam's voice broke into her thoughts.

"Dawn?"

"W-what? Oh, sorry," Dawn stammered, "What did you say?"

"I was just wondering how you were feeling."

"Could be better," Dawn replied, "but I could definitely be worse." Once again looking around, Dawn asked, "Um, where exactly are we?"

"Oops, we probably should have explained," Gecko answered, looking to Sam, "When you were... sleeping, Red and Sam built this house. We could guess we probably wouldn't be traveling for at least a few days, and you obviously shouldn't be out in the open, so here's this." Gecko gestured around at the room. Dawn nodded, struggling into a sitting position.

"Hey! You should be a little more careful!" Sam exclaimed, rushing over.

"Ay, I'm fine! It's more comfortable talking when I'm sitting up, and anyway, it's not hurting that badly." Dawn retorted, playfully batting her worried friend away. Dawn's long furry ears suddenly shot up as she remembered something. "Oh, darnit! I've missed most of the day! Hopefully I've collected enough ticks of..." she trailed off, thoughtfully examining the faintly glowing sun shape on her wrist. Confused, Gecko looked to Sam, bewildered. Sam just shrugged, obviously equally confused. Dawn, apparently oblivious to the fact that her friends had no idea what she was talking about, continued her deliberations, "I think I'll have enough to last the night..." she said, looking back up to Gecko and Sam, "Hey, you two haven't seen this yet, have you? This will be fun! Watch this!" Closing her eyes, Dawn started to change. Her long ears shrunk, their fur disappeared, and the pointed ends rounded. The golden sun symbol on her wrist faded and disappeared. Her tail slowly shortened and vanished under the covers of the bed, and the lump in the sheets where they were became smaller and smaller until it disappeared entirely. Dawn opened her eyes again to reveal the fact that they were now hazel, instead of the glowing blue and orange that they normally were. Dawn now looked like a normal human girl. Gecko and Sam stood there, their mouths open in shock.

"What the...?" Sam breathed, staring at Dawn. Gecko said nothing, also staring. Dawn beamed, obviously delighted at her friends' reactions.

"See?" she said, struggling to hold back her laughter, "I told you it would be cool!"

"Um, you didn't actually say that, but sure..." Gecko replied, still slightly awed, "It was pretty cool though." Just then, Red walked in and stopped short.

"Who in the world is that?" Red exclaimed, looking around, "Where's Dawn? Dawn? Hello?" The three girls laughed.

"I'm right here!" Dawn said, still laughing, "Here, I'll show you too. This will be funny..." Dawn changed back into her wezen form, gaining a "What in the world?!" from Red.

"See?" Dawn said, smiling humorously. Red stood at the door and gaped.

"You see, guys," Dawn said, "I - and all other wezens, as far as I know - collect ticks of sunlight when we're in the sun. We need a little to live, and any extra can be used to disguise ourselves as humans. We still need sunlight to live when we're in our human disguise, but our eyes won't glow, and of course we won't have any other wezen features. That's why I can't go mining for too long, even though I'd love to..." She trailed off, looking out the window thoughtfully. "If only..." "Well, anyway, that's what that was. I could tell that you two were confused about the ticks of sunlight thing I was talking about."

"Yeah, we really were," Sam replied, "It was really awkward listening to you and not understanding a thing you were saying!"

"Exactly." Gecko chimed in.

"I just didn't recognize you for a second, Dawn." Red said, "I guess you don't look all that different, I'm just used to your long ears and glowing eyes and stuff, that's all."

Dawn shrugged. "Understandable. I mean, you all had no idea that I could do that, and you all are used to my being, well, not a human."

"Just a question, though," Gecko said, "How do you survive at night, then? I mean, there isn't any sunlight then..."

"Well, I'm usually in the sun all day, and the moonlight still gives me a few ticks. Just not a lot."

"What exactly are ticks of sunlight anyway?"

"Just a measurement of how much solar energy that I'm collecting."

"Why do your eyes glow?"

"Solar energy being released. Releasing the energy is what keeps me alive."

"Why-"

"My goodness!" Dawn exclaimed, "You guys have endless questions! I'll explain some more later, but for now we really should all get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us."

"You mean...?" Gecko asked.

"Yes, I do mean that. I think I'll be ready to keep on traveling tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" Sam said, "I mean..." Dawn cut her off cheerfully.

"I'll be fine! I'm a hundred percent sure."

"If you say so..." Sam said, "Anyway, some sleep does sound good to me. We've all been up worried about you...

"Well, first of all, you shouldn't have been! I appreciate it though. Secondly, go get some sleep! We're really going to need tp. If we want to avoid another encounter like that, we're going to need to travel through the forest again. It's a lot safer than being in the open."

"True..." Red said thoughtfully. "We'll definitely need our rest if we're going to do that. I'd agree with doing so, though. It seems like that's the best thing to do right now. I'll be in my room if you need me."

"Goodnight!"

"'Night!"

"See you in the morning!"

Red, Sam, and Gecko left the room, leaving Dawn to herself. _Should I have told them about... _Dawn thought uncertainly, staring out the window at the rising moon. _No, it's better if no one else knows. It should stay a secret for as long as possible..._

Gecko sat up and yawned, shielding her eyes from the bright morning sun streaming in from the window across the room. _Ah, it's good to sleep in an actual bed for once, _she thought as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, _After all this walking, I think we all needed a good rest. _Gecko quickly busied herself, brushing her hair and putting it up in its usual ponytail, before leaving her room. She quietly closed the door behind her, knowing that the others would probably still be asleep. Gecko usually woke up before everyone else. Usually. Gecko walked outside and was about to sit down and enjoy the morning sun when she noticed someone on the cliff that rose above the house. "Hey, Dawn." Gecko called, walking up the hill towards the sitting figure, "I thought you didn't like getting up early."

Dawn's ears shot up, and she whipped around. "Oh, it's you." she said, relaxing, "I've been a little on edge ever since that encounter with Evan. What he did... I guess the way he acted just wasn't right. He's reckless, but he wouldn't try to kill anyone, especially without reason. Just not like him..." Dawn stared back up at the early morning sun thoughtfully, her tail gently swishing back and forth across the grass behind her.

"You know, you're right." Gecko agreed, nodding slowly and sitting down next to Dawn, "I didn't really think about that, but you're right."

"What do you think happened then?" Dawn asked, turning to Gecko.

"Well, we didn't get a good look at him during the attack. Maybe it wasn't him?"

Dawn gritted her teeth and look back to the sun. "It was him alright... yet not him. There was something very wrong there. I could just feel it. But what it was... I have no clue." Dawn turned back to Gecko, uncertainty and confusion shadowing her eyes. "I've never heard of or felt anything like that before." The two sat in silence for a while, watching an enderman below going about its business of moving random blocks around, when the hook and string of a fishing rod flew between them. "Hey! Watch it! Who did tha-" Dawn shouted as the two jumped back. The hook hit the enderman, drawing a screech from it, and Sam flew past, clinging to a fishing pole.

"I decided I wanted to go enderman fishing!" she shouted as she flew towards the enderman, "See ya guys later!" Then, in a puff of purplish smoke, Sam, her fishing pole, and the enderman disappeared.

"What... what in... what in the world was _that?!_" Dawn stammered, staring in shock at the fading purplish smog. Red came running up and stared at the two girls.

"What happened, you two? You look like you had an creeper blow up right in front of you!" Red said, looking down at Gecko. Gecko explained what happened, with Dawn inserting details in here or there. "Um, wow," Red said, looking over the landscape, "Sounds like something she would do, though. We'd better go find her." After about an hour of searching the forest with no luck, the trio sat down on the leaves that covered the ground.

"How in the world did she just disappear like that?" Dawn huffed, flopping down, "I mean, endermen can't portal _that_ far away, can they?" The only response she got was a sigh from Red and a shrug from Gecko. "Well, whatever happened, she's gone, and she probably won't be back for a while. Once she gets excited about doing something, she does it for quite a while."

"Well, now what?" Gecko sighed, leaning back against a tree, "Should we just keep traveling?"

"I guess so."

"Well, I guess we better go then."


	6. Blizzard

It had been days since they had eaten a filling meal. For the past three days Dawn, Gecko, and Red had been trekking through vast, empty mountains, with no end in sight. Their last provisions were wearing down, and there was little to nothing edible on the rocky cliffs. To make matters worse, a blizzard was raging, and the three were stuck right in the middle of it. To make matters _even_ worse, they had lost each other.

"Dawn!?" Gecko shouted, trying to be heard over the howling winds, "We really need to find some shelter! I don't think any of us can go much further in this!" Gecko whipped her head around, desperately trying to get a glimpse of one of her friends. They were nowhere in sight. However, this didn't mean much, considering the fact that Gecko could barely see right in front of her because of all the snow whirling around her. Shivering, she continued on in hope of finding either one of her friends or a sheltered area.

Dawn heard a noise mixed in with the howling of the blizzard, but couldn't make out what it was. Assuming it was just a falling boulder or something along those lines, she ignored it, and concentrated on walking. She could feel her energy draining quickly, and was beginning to feel sleepy. _I __really_ _shouldn't be in a situation like this for too long. All this cold will drain my energy a lot faster... _she thought. She had stopped walking, but hadn't noticed. _Will this be the end of me?_ She sat down in the snow, feeling even sleepier than before, and quite numb. _Well, there's worse ways to go than this. At least it won't be painful... too bad it's so early. I really wanted to get revenge on Eli, darnit. Oh well, at least people can say I died trying... _Dawn lay down in the snow and closed her eyes. _Maybe Gecko and Red will go on without me... and anyway, at least it's not forever... I'll respawn eventually... _White faded to black, and the howling winds fell away into silence.

Red sighed, looking out at the swirling snows. He had found the closest thing to a shelter; a small overhang that managed to block most of the blizzard. _I really hope those two are okay, _he thought, worriedly peering out at the storm and hoping to catch a glimpse of one of his comrades. _I should go out and look for them, and hope I can find my way back here. _Knowing that was the only thing to do, he gave one last look back at the overhang and dove into the swirling white.

Gecko was starting to give up. She felt as if she had been walking for eons, even though she had only been traveling aimlessly through the snows for around ten minutes. She was about to sit down and try to make some sort of shelter in the drifts when she bumped into something. However, when the thing she bumped into said "Hey!", she realized that she hadn't bumped into something, but someone. "H-hey!" Gecko replied, "I'm r-really glad I found you! I-I'm about to freeze out here!" She looked up and gave a short cry of happiness. "Kay! It's good to see you!"

"Gecko?" the girl said, surprised, "What are you doing all the way up here?"

"I was trying to find Eli-" Gecko responded, before being cut off.

"And alone to boot! You know that you should always have company when you're up in these mountains!" Kay interrupted.

"Wait!" Gecko said, remembering her friends, "Red and Dawn were with me... but we got separated. I'm a little worried about Dawn, since she's a weaken and all; I mean, I don't know if it will, but I'm worried that the blizzard might affect her worse than the rest of us..."

"Dawn's stuck out there!?" Kay exclaimed, startling Gecko and making her jump, "And Red too!? Geez, we better go find those two quickly!"

Dawn was about to drift off into the oblivion of sleep when she felt something nudge her. A faint noise came from somewhere above her, but she ignored it. _Aw, come on, _she thought, _Go away! I just want to sleep..._ However, the noises morphed into words, and Dawn heard a familiar voice that seemed to come from far away. "Hey! Dawn... wake up!" Dawn opened her eyes a tiny bit, and she heard another voice, "Dawn! Come on, wake up!" Dawn slowly opened her eyes all the way, and she saw who was nudging her: a blonde-haired girl with blue eyes. "Kay?" Dawn murmured, looking up sleepily.

"Thank goodness," Kay, sitting back, "She'll be fine." Gecko was standing next to her, shivering as well. Dawn sat up, and then began to feel extremely cold.

"G-gah!" she exclaimed, hugging her tail to her chest and shivering, "I-it's really cold all of a sudden!"

"Oh, it wasn't like you were about to freeze out here, you know," Kay replied sarcastically, "I'm very surprised you're cold." Looking up, Dawn realized that she was with only two people; Red was missing.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, struggling to stand up, "W-where's Red?" The looks that the two other girls exchanged told Dawn enough. "He's still out there!? I'm fine... we need to find him!" With nods from Gecko and Kay, the three set off further into the storm.

Red was plowing through the swirling snows when he tripped over something, landing in the snow drift in front of him with a soft thump. Standing up and brushing himself off, he assumed it was a hardened piece of snow. Or something. He shivered, worriedly looking up ahead. Then he heard something behind him. A faint voice came through the snows, "What was that?... Red?" He whipped and around and stumbled through the drifts towards the noise, and ran straight into a person. Looking up, he saw that he had bumped into a blonde-haired girl with blue eyes and sun-tanned skin. "Kay!" Red exclaimed, immeadiately recognizing her.

"Ah, we found you. Good." Kay said. Looking over her shoulder, she shouted to two other people. "We found him, you guys." Red was delighted when the two figures ran up; it was Dawn and Gecko.

"Thank goodness!" Red said, "I was a little worried about you two." Dawn didn't look great, as her eyes not glowing as brightly as they should be, and Gecko was shivering, but other than that the other girls seemed fine.

"Well, unless you guys want to die out here," Kay said, looking back to Red, "I suggest you follow me to my place."

Within a few minutes they had reached Kay's home, a large but cozy log cabin sheltered from the blizzard by a towering overhang of stone. Kay strided through the large wooden doors, leading the shivering trio of adventurers inside. "I'm just going to grab some blankets," she called over her shoulder as she leapt up a set of stairs inside. "Don't die of hypothermia before I get back." she added sarcastically, laughing. As she disappeareddissapeared over the top of the stairway, Dawn, Gecko, and Red looked at each other.

"She's quite nonchalant about this, isn't she?" Dawn exclaimed, exhaling humorously.

"Well, she does live here..." Red answered thoughtfully, "I mean, she would be used to these storms, right?"

"Maybe." Dawn replied. She shuffled over to a comfortable-looking couch across the room and flopped down on it. Closing her eyes, she sighed and relaxed. Gecko and Red looked at each other, both silently expressingexpressing the same thought: 'Um, what now?'. Just as Gecko open her mouth to reply, Kay appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Who wants blankets?" she playfully exclaimed, waving some multi-colored blankets over her head. Gecko and Red smiled. _Kay can always make someone happier with her jokes, _Gecko thought, holding out her hands to catch the blanket Kay threw to her, _I'm really glad she found us. _Kay dedecended the stairs and gently laid a thick, woolen blue blanketblanket over Dawn, who had apparently fallen asleep on the couch. Laughing quietly under her breath, she turned away from Dawn and the couch and addressed the remaining two adventurers.

"Well, you two need somewhere to sleep as well, right?" she said, placing her hands on her hips and looking around the room, "you can decide whether you want to sleep in the guest room upstairs or down here with Dawn. I'll be upstairs if ya need me." Kay turned and ascended the stairs again, this time not returning. Gecko and Red looked to each other again.

"Well, I'm just gonna get a room upstairs," Red announced, stretching, "I don't know about you, but I would rather sleep on a bed than on a couch... I mean, right now I'd definitely take a couch over nothing, but... well, you know, a bed just sounds pretty good."

"I agree," Gecko yawned, "I mean, Dawn will be fine as long as there aren't yetis up here." The two grinned at each other before heading upstairs to the guest rooms.


End file.
